Sometimes photographs say everything. Follow along on our drive of the Dingle Peninsula with this Photo-Montage!
 If you want to immerse yourself in medieval Ireland, you must visit the city of Kilkenny. The city is nestled along the Nore River, between the stately Kilkenny Castle on one end and the Cathedral which sits on a hill at the other end. It is famous for its many medieval buildings and is referred to as the Marble City after the black polished limestone ['marble'] that was quarried around the city. It holds ancient city status due to having a cathedral and an old royal charter dating from 1609.  We were fortunate to have booked the beautiful Kilkenny River Court Hotel, with its fantastic view of Kilkenny Castle, right across the river. Not only are the rooms comfortable, but the location of the hotel is perfect. You can walk right across the bridge to the old town. In fact, Kilkenny old town is very walkable and even though we had a little rain, we managed to walk almost every inch of the ancient part of the city.      Naturally, one of your fist stops will be Kilkenny Castle and it certainly was for us as well. The castle situated on the bend of the Nore River is built from local gray limestone. The exterior walls are topped with battlements and anchored by huge drum towers at the corners. Richard de Clare (Strongbow) built the first wooden fort on the site in 1172 to defend the river crossing. His son-law, William le Mareschal built the stone castle which continued to evolve into the 17th century vision you see today. You can self-tour the rooms which are now restored to look as they did in Victorian times. Interestingly, the Butler family (the Earls of Ormond), bought the castle and the Lordship of Kilkenny in 1392. The Butlers lived in Kilkenny for the next 600 years and the long gallery is lined with portraits of the Butlers through the ages.    Across the street from the castle are the old stables. They have been turned into the Kilkenny Design Center where local artists and artisans work and sell their art and crafts.   You will feel like you are transported back in time as you stroll up the curving High Street and wander the narrow colorful shop-lined lanes which are connected with small arched medieval “slips” or alleyways, some of them so steep that they require steps. There are some wonderful restaurants and cafes hidden along those slips. We found a few pubs where the atmosphere was cozy and historic and since it was a rainy day, we spent some time patronizing them!      The pub with the best story behind it is the 13th century Kyteler’s Inn. The stone cellars of this pub are fun place to have a beer or dinner. As the story goes, it was in this place that Alice Kyteler, the famed Witch of Kilkenny was born. She was charged with being a witch in 1324. Witnesses claimed they saw her performing spells and she was convicted and sentenced to death. Alice managed to escape, but left her poor maidservant, Petronella, behind to be burned at the stake as her substitute.   We also popped into and the Pumphouse, during our rainy afternoon of sightseeing just to periodically dry off and the pub was incredibly charming with a friendly bartender to chat with and a crackling fire to warm ourselves by. Of course a pint of the local Smithwick’s helped to warm our tummies!      Smithwick’s is brewed at the St. Francis Abbey Brewery, which has been part of Kilkenny life for 290 years and is Ireland’s oldest brewery. Smithwick’s was first brewed in 1710. By the 1920s, it had become Ireland’s most popular ale, a position it still holds according to the brewery.   Heading back out, even though the weather was a bit gloomy, we managed to visit several of the medieval gems in the old city. We loved our self-guided tour of the Rothe House Museum, which was built between 1594 -1610, and was originally the home of a wealthy merchant. You will definitely want to see this home. The Rothe Family, along with less than a dozen other wealthy families, controlled Kilkenny’s trade and dominated its civic government from the late Middle Ages until the 17th Century.    The house was expanded over the decades as the family grew both in size and wealth and they literally built three houses one behind the other. The first house was completed in 1594 and this is where John Rothe carried out his business as a merchant and lived upstairs with his family. The second house was completed in 1604 and included additional family living space.    The third house, which was also two floors, was completed 1610 and included a kitchen on the ground floor with a large hearth and bake oven. Behind all of these additions was the garden which contained an orchard, herb and vegetable gardens, a pigeon house, a well, and a summer house. The house is a wonderful look into the home life of a wealthy 17th century family in Ireland.    Turning onto Abbey Street, we went on to the Black Abbey intentionally built outside the medieval city gates, which was established in 1225 as one of the first houses of the Dominican Order in Ireland. The name Black Abbey is based on the fact that the Dominicans were often referred to as "Black Friars" on account of the black cloak which they wear over their white habits.     In 1540, when Ireland was under the rule of the protestant queen, Elizabeth I of England, the property of the priory was confiscated by the crown. Over the next three hundred years, the Abbey and its Benedictine Friars faced many challenges as England’s rule veered from Protestant to Catholic and back again, a number of times. In the 19th century, extensive restoration and reconstruction of the nave was performed, which made possible the re-consecration of the abbey in 1864. The jewel colored stained glass window in the apse called the “Rosary Window” is from that period.  The last place we visited was St. Canice’s Cathedral. The cathedral was built in the 13th century, on the earlier site of a monastery founded in the 6th century and named after St Canice. The tower that stands beside the current cathedral is a well-preserved Celtic Christian round tower from the 9th-century. This tower is one of only two medieval round towers in Ireland that can be climbed to the top but you need to use ladders and the rainy day prevented us from climbing it.     The interior of the cathedral is beautiful with vaulted ceilings, Romanesque arches, Gothic windows and intricately designed wooden choir. Kilkenny was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Ossory and the ancient stone of enthronement for bishops is hidden under the seat of the medieval throne in the North Transept. To this day the bishops of Ossory are enthroned there.     The cathedral contains some of the finest ancient tomb monuments in Ireland, including one to Bishop David, and the tombs of many bishops of Ossory. The Dukes of Ormond (the Butlers) and several owners of Kilkenny Castle are buried there.     Strangely, tucked up against a wall is the tombstone of a member of the Kyteler family which was made famous by the witch Alice Kyteler. It was found in 1894 and brought to the cathedral.  The cathedral was deserted the entire time we wandered through it so we felt free to take our time investigating all the nooks and chapels of the lovely old church and by the time we were finished the rain had stopped and we walked back along the river toward our hotel in the setting sun.    Just in time to look for delisious Irish, Beef and Guinness Stew at Pordylos, (a country french restaurant!) and later, another Smithwick’s at one of Kilkenny's wonderful old pubs!       I know this might seem gross, but you absolutely must visit the National Museum of Ireland - Archeology when you are in Dublin, to see the bog people. Flattened from centuries of bog pressure, they are amazingly well preserved to the point where you can actually recognize their features. Some were victims of an unfortunate accident, but others were human sacrifices or mortally wounded by battle. You get a tiny glimpse into life back in the stone and bronze ages. On a lighter note, you can then move on to see the artifacts from early Irish life including beautifully worked gold jewelry, and folk life items. The period covered by the exhibitions extends from the Mesolithic through to the end of the medieval period, and includes internationally known treasures such as the Ardagh Chalice, 'Tara' Brooch and Derrynaflan Hoard. They have an amazing collection of Viking antiquities, including long boats and other Viking grave-goods such as, swords and spears, personal items and even weights and measures for trading purposes. Their foreign archeological collection includes Roman, Greek and Egyptian antiquities. You can see some beautifully preserved Egyptian Sarcophagi!  Can you visit Dublin and not make a pilgrimage to its famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral? Yes you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it! First, just reading our guidebook and the internet, we became aware of the long history of importance this church has, not only in Dublin, but in all of Ireland. The church built on this long-standing early Christian site was dedicated on March 17th in the year 1191, and stands next to what is considered the holy well where St. Patrick baptized converts when he visited Dublin in the second half of the 5th century. Two Celtic carved stones from sometime between 800 – 1100 A.D, were found near the well and are on display inside the Cathedral. The new church was dedicated to "God, our Blessed Lady Mary and St. Patrick,” and was raised to Cathedral status in 1224. The current splendid building is from 1220. The Cathedral Website says “Saint Patrick's Cathedral has been at the heart of Dublin and Ireland's history and culture for over 800 years. For long periods it was the largest enclosed space on the island and it remains the largest Cathedral in the country. It has been visited by some of Irish history's most influential individuals from Cromwell, William of Orange and King James I, to Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. It is the final resting place for one of Ireland's most famous men, Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's travels and Dean (head) of the Cathedral.” Ok, that hooked us. We had to see this inspiring site for ourselves!                Christ Church Cathedral is located in the former heart of medieval Dublin and there has been a church on the site since Viking times in 1028. As usual, the huge beautiful cathedral lured me in like a siren, where I basked in my addiction for religious art and architecture. Dúnán, the first bishop of Dublin and Sitriuc, the Norse king of Dublin, founded the original 11th century, wooden Viking church. In 1163, Christ Church was converted to an Augustinian priory by the 2nd Archbishop of London, Laurence O’Toole (later made a saint). Archbishop O’Toole was an important actor in Dublin’s history, and even acted as a diplomat in negotiations between the Dubliners and the Anglo-Normans invaders including Strongbow (Richard de Clare) following the capture of the city of Dublin in 1170.    Strongbow was a medieval Norman-Welsh peer and warlord who came to Ireland at the request of King Diarmuid MacMorrough. His arrival marked the beginning of English involvement in Ireland and his tomb is said to be located inside Christ Church. There are actually two tomb effigies side by side. An old tale says that the small tomb beside him is that of his son. It is said that he believed his son a coward and cut him in half in a rage, and that is why the tomb sculpture appears to show only the top half of the body. Great story but who knows if it’s really true! Since the original cathedral was a wooden building, in the 1180s, Strongbow and other wealthy Norman knights helped to fund a complete rebuilding of Christ Church in stone. They built the choir, choir aisles and transepts, the crypt and chapels. During the Reformation In 1539, King Henry VIII converted the priory cathedral to his new “Church of England” and ensured Christ Church adhered to his new church structure. In 1562 most of the cathedral collapsed, leaving only one nave wall standing, and immediately had to be repaired. Strongbow’s tomb effigy was destroyed and a new medieval replacement was supplied from Drogheda. Nobody knows if he is really in the tomb or not.     Much of the cathedral you see today is from the Victorian Era and designed in the Neo-Gothic style, due to the extensive restorations and renovations carried out by the architect George Edmund Street between 1871 and 1878.   If you want to experience the oldest part of the cathedral, head down underground to the arched crypt. The crypt contains several tomb monuments and beautifully carved sculptures, even some from the middle ages. Interestingly, during the 16th and 17th centuries, Christ Church’s crypts were used as a market, a meeting place for business, and at one stage even a pub! I tried to imagine busy market and pub patrons bustling between vendor stalls which would have vied for space with elaborate tombs.    Christchurch is a beautiful cathedral full of history and amazing architecture and well worth a visit!
 Have a rental car? Drive south into the wild windswept Wicklow Mountains, check out the bogs and visit magical Glendalough. I don’t know what I expected, but the miles of rolling windswept hills marked by black streaks of peat waiting to be chopped neatly out of the bogs was a surprise. The Wicklow Mountain National Park is 50,600 acres (204.8-square-kilometres) and as we drove through it, we met only a few other lonely cars. Most of our journey was isolated. The blue sky was huge above us with clouds floating across it, aloft the same winds that rustled the pale grasses. Hiding in those grasses are bluebells, wood sorrel, bracken, ferns and mosses all shading the grasses with their vibrant colors.    Jim still brags about what he considers a wonderful experience…….Peeing in a bog. As he points out, not very many Americans can claim that distinction! I’m not sure that is actually so unusual! Darkening the bright fields are stacks of black peat which is fascinating for anyone who has read about historical Ireland. Visions of smoky fires filled our heads and we embarked upon our quest to find a real peat fire to enjoy.  Leaving the spartan hills, we eventually entered the deep green forest valley filled with pines, holly, hazel and mountain ash trees, with wild rivers flowing to the south where the lovely ruins of an early Christian monastic settlement can be found. The Glendalough Valley was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age and the two lakes, from which Glendalough (glen of two lakes) gets its name, were formed when the ice eventually thawed.     The recorded history of the wooded valley dates from the 6th century - the dawn of Christianity in Ireland. The Valley is home to one of Ireland’s most impressive monastic sites founded by St. Kevin in the 6th Century. Kevin, a descendant of one of the ruling families in Leinster, studied at what then must have been the wilds of Glendalough under the care of three holy men. He was to return later, with a small group of monks to found a monastery where the 'two rivers form a confluence'. St Kevin’s fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in about 618. For six hundred years afterwards, Glendalough flourished and became an important center for religious learning, but also was a settlement that experienced its share of Viking raids.    In its heyday, the settlement included not only churches and monastic cells but also workshops, guesthouses, an infirmary, farm buildings and houses. Most of the buildings that survive today date from the 10th through 12th centuries. Among the ruins of what remains of the small monastic community are the: Round Tower which sits away from the main group of buildings, and would have been used for storage, and possibly a place for retreat during invasion.  St. Kevin’s Church, a stone roofed building with a distinctive round belfry with conical cap at the west end.  The cathedral; which is the largest building at Glendalough and was built in several phases from the 10th through the early 13th century.  The Priest’s House; which is a small Romanesque building with a decorative arch at each end. Its original use is unknown, but it may have housed relics of St. Kevin. Its name comes from the practice of burying priests there in the 18th and 19th centuries.   St. Mary's Church, from the 10th century which belonged to the nuns and St. Kieran’s Church; which probably commemorates St. Kieran, the founder of Clonmacnoise, a monastic settlement to the northwest that had associations with Glendalough in the 10th century are also at the site, (Sorry no photos). The arrival of the Normans in Ireland ended the golden epoch of Glendalough. In 1214 the monastery was destroyed by the invaders and the Diocese of Glendalough was united with the Sea of Dublin. After that, Glendalough declined as a monastic establishment and gradually it became deserted. The buildings fell into decay and more than 6 hundred years elapsed before a reconstruction program was started in 1878 and began the preservation of what you see today.    Our last stop on our day trip from Dublin with Tour Dublin, through the Boyne Valley, was Trim Castle. Trim Castle is the largest Anglo Norman castle in Ireland. It was constructed over about a thirty year period by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter beginning in 1173. In 1172, Hugh de Lacy was granted the “liberty” of Meath by King Henry II in an attempt to curb the ambitions of Richard de Clare (Strongbow). During feudal times, the “liberties” were a grant of lands where the baron would hold economic and legal power, and de Lacy was granted the lands of Meath and control over all the villagers and farming peasants who lived there.  The massive Stone Keep (tower) was twenty sided and was built in the shape of a cross. A Keep from this period would have had very thick stone walls and few windows. Turrets would be used as a high vantage point for soldiers to watch for enemy attack. The entrance to a Stone Keep was through outside stone stairs, directly to the first floor of the keep, while the kitchens and the lower hall were on the ground floor. The living quarters and the upper hall would have been on the floors above. Stone keeps provided a much more solid defense against attack compared to previous wooden keeps.      Wonderful models of how the castle ruins would have appeared in the middle-ages help you visualize how families and servants would have lived in Trim castle. The tour is guided, so knowledgeable guides tell you all about the castle and its history.    This tower was protected by a ditch, curtain wall and moat. The Castle was used as a center of Norman administration for the Lordship of Meath, one of the new administrative areas of Ireland created by King Henry II of England. Several noble families owned the castle throughout the next three centuries with the castle finally ending up in royal hands by 1423, when it passed to Richard of York and his son Edward IV. Interestingly for those who have heard the term “beyond the pale” Trim Castle actually marked the northern boundary of “The Pale” which was the area in Ireland directly under English control during the middle ages. The lands beyond that were considered wild and treacherous.     You must take in the views from the heights of the keep where you can see not only the defensive curtain walls, but the rolling countryside that the lord of Trim Castle would have ruled. You can also see the ruin of St. Mary’s Abbey, founded as an Augustinian Abbey.     The abbey is situated on the north bank of the River Boyne opposite the castle on land given to St. Patrick. It is said that he founded the abbey. The abbey was a prominent pilgrimage site, famous for the healing power of its statue of the Virgin Mary, until it was dissolved by King Henry VIII during the Reformation. Little remains of the abbey except for the Yellow Steeple, the ruin of the abbey bell tower named for the yellow color of the stonework in the setting sun, and Talbot's Castle, an abbey building that has been converted to a manor house which is to the left of the abbey tower.   The castle fell into decline during the 16th and 17th centuries, but for us, while the castle’s history was very interesting, what really caught our interest was the fact that the castle had been used in scenes from the film, Braveheart. I know…… How shallow of us! But it was pretty fun to imagine how they transformed the castle into the city of York in the movie and to see where the London Square had been located by the castle wall!   Our third stop on our day tour from Dublin along the Boyne Valley with Tour Dublin, was at Newgrange (Bru na Boinne), and this was the site I was most excited to be visiting. Imagine a spiritual site older than the Stonehenge, older than the Pyramids! Newgrange is over five-thousand years old. Newgrange was built during the Neolithic or New Stone Age by a farming community that prospered on the rich lands of the Boyne Valley. People of the area knew about the mound throughout history, and it was not disturbed after it was originally sealed eons ago. It wasn’t until 1699 that a farmer decided to dig it up for stones to use on his farm and it became the focus of antiquarians and archeologists.    The mound, while looking circular from the ground is actually Kidney shaped and the interior is the location of what Archeologists label as a “Passage Tomb”. Some of those who continue to research the tomb believe that it was also a place of astrological, spiritual and ceremonial importance; almost temple-like.  Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun. Above the entrance to the passage at Newgrange there is an opening called a roof-box. Its purpose is to allow sunlight to penetrate the chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21, the winter solstice. I find it amazing that Neolithic architects in 3200 B.C. were able to perfectly line up the opening to the suns December rays! The tours of the tomb are by guide only so we joined our small group (again the benefit of traveling off season!) and entered the extremely narrow passage into the tomb. If you are at all claustrophobic, this tour is not for you. Jim remained outside while I squeezed inside with others who couldn’t wait to see what was inside. Even I felt a little thrill of fright during this experience, but once you are standing inside the round tomb all is ok again. The center chamber has a high corbeled (stones stacked and fitted together into a vaulted ceiling) roof and has three small attached chambers that surround the larger space. Each of the smaller chambers has a large flat "basin stone", which was where the bones of the dead were possibly originally deposited, although whether it was actually a burial site remains unclear. No Photos of the interior.... Sorry they are not allowed inside the tomb.   As we all huddled together in the room, we were told to prepare for the light to go out, so that they could perform a simulation of the solstice rays entering the tomb. Let me tell you it was pitch black for a minute, but the rays suddenly projecting through the opening to where we stood in the center of the tomb was incredible and really made you aware that you were feeling a similar awe as that of the ancient priests in stone-age times. It is an experience you shouldn’t miss, but if you can’t make yourself go deep inside the tomb, there is a replica in the museum that is on the site. It is an exact replica of the main part of the tomb and is fun to really take a good look at it in good lighting!  The standing stones around the site are from a later Bronze Age period, but the stones that line the exterior of the tomb were brought there during tomb construction. It is amazing to think that they were able to move those huge stones UPHILL most likely from the river terraces between Newgrange and the Boyne river area. Humans are capable of pretty incredible feats!    It is believed that the carvings on the stones display symbolic meanings, but nobody really knows what they may have meant. There are many circles, spirals, chevrons, dots and other beautiful forms.   A visit to Newgrange will give you a wonderful glimpse into the Neolithic age and as you walk all the way around the tomb and gaze out at the rolling farmland dotted by other ancient mounds, you can actually begin to sense the sacredness of this grand tomb.
 The Hill of Slane was the second stop on our tour of the Boyne Valley with Tour Dublin. The hill rises 518 ft. (158 m) above the surrounding green fields which we could see were dotted with black and white cows. In fact, as we got closer, we could see those cows had made themselves at home right up to the ruins of the Abbey. From the ruins, we could see the Megalithic sacred site of Bru Na Boinne (New Grange) and the Hill of Tara in the distance, reinforcing the fact that the area was considered special since ancient times. The Hill of Slane has been an important location as far back as the mythical times of Ireland. In the verse of the bards called the Fir Bolg, it is said that High King Slaine mac Dela had been buried there and some believe that a second small mound on the hill is actually his burial mound.     Since the hill already held pagan importance, it naturally became the site of later Christian shrines. In fact, it is written that St. Patrick lit the first Paschal fire on the Hill of Slane in direct defiance of the High King Laoire (Loegaire). The king, who resided at Tara, 9.9 miles (16 k) away, forbid any other fires being lit within view of Tara during the Beltaine Festival (Spring Equinox). Tradition says that Loegaire was so impressed by Patrick’s devotion that, despite his defiance (or perhaps because of it), he let him continue his missionary work in Ireland and appointed him Bishop of Slane.  The Hill of Slane remained a center of religion and learning for centuries after the days of St. Patrick, and there are several interesting and picturesque ruins to explore on the Hill of Slane. The earliest are the ruins of a friary church and college at the top of the hill. The friary was restored in 1512, so what you see now may be from that period. The friary was completely abandoned in 1723.     On the west side of the hill there are the remains of a twelfth-century Norman Castle with motte ( raised earthwork) and bailey (enclosed courtyard), built by Richard Fleming in the 1170s. This was the seat of the Flemings of Slane, who were barons of Slane and they lived on the hill until around the 15th or 16th century when they moved to a new castle near the Boyne River. The Flemings were lords of Slane until the 17th century, when, Protestant lords were given Irish lands through what is now called the Williamite confiscations. The Conyngham’s who were a noble Scottish family, took over (some say purchased?) the Slane Castle and lands.      Wandering through the grey ruins, I could only think of the many monks who would have been busily attending to the Abbey and the family that had shared the mound with them back during the colorful historical times of the Hill of Slane.    There are a variety of great companies that host day tours from Dublin, of the rolling green hills and fields of the Boyne Valley in Ireland. We chose to hire a private driver/guide for the day from Tour Dublin, and our guide Kieran, whisked us off to explore some of the amazing history of Ireland. Our tour of the valley would include, Monasterboice, Hill of Slane, Newgrange, and Trim Castle. Our first stop was Monasterboice which can be found in County Louth, north of Drogheda. This site which looks somewhat like a small graveyard at first glance, was one of the early important monastic communities of religion and learning in Ireland. It was founded in the 5th century by a follower of St. Patrick; the hermit St. Buithe. The word Monasterboice is an Anglicization of Mainistir Bhuithe, meaning "monastery of Buithe” When we drove up to the site, we saw that there was only one other car in the parking lot and that we would have this wonderful place almost to ourselves. Traveling off season really allows you to appreciate the history and beauty of Ireland without dodging the crowds of summer.    The small monastery suffered a Viking invasion in 968, but the marauders were driven out by the High King of Ireland at that time, Donal. Shortly after that, the round tower which is 110 feet high (33 m) was built. Its windows are slits and originally, the door would have been 15 – 20 feet above ground. After centuries of burials, the ground is higher, so the door is currently only 6 feet (2 m) off the ground. It tapers as it rises to what would have been a conical top, but the top part is no longer there. Most historians believe that the monks would have taken refuge in these towers which were divided by wooden floors, during assaults upon their communities, drawing the ladders up after them and defending the tower through the slit windows. In 1097 the monastery and its tower was burned and shortly after that it began to decline as nearby, the newly built Mellifont Abbey began to grow and thrive.   The ruins of two churches from the 14th century are on the site and ancient gravestones from the monastic times surround the tower, but what catches the eye are the huge Celtic High Crosses from the 10th century.    Best preserved and certainly the most beautiful, is the 18 foot (5.5 m) tall Cross of Murdock which is named after the Abbot Muiredach mac Domhnaill from 923 A.D. It features biblical carving from the Old and New testaments of the Bible. As you face the cross, the center panel shows the Last Judgment. Those going to heaven are on the right and those going to hell are on the left. Working down the center pillar of the cross, you will see the scenes from the Old Testament, the Magi, Moses striking the rock, the life of David and Adam and Eve. We wandered for quite some time thinking about those ancient days of High Kings and Monks in Ireland and soaking up the beauty of the carved stones. In our minds, we could hear the echoes of the monks chants.     |
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